


Snow White, Rose Red, and Sky Blue: Z Nation Season 6

by fire_and_a_rose



Category: Black Summer (TV), Z Nation (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Awkwardness all around, Confused 10K, F/M, Final Mercy, Humor and...Everything Else, Other, Overprotective Murphy, Season 6 My Way, but it does have puppies and kittens, seriously don’t forget about Zona, this ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, zona
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-10-31 02:02:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17840306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fire_and_a_rose/pseuds/fire_and_a_rose
Summary: Zona made her with a mission in mind.They never took her personality into account, or that she would favor her father in more than looks.Except for her skin.  That was all her own.Or:Snow never thought she'd have to compete with two women for places in the hearts of two different men: her father and the man she falls for.Or:If there was one thing 10K, who had thought he was in love with Red, never, even in the zombie apocalypse, thought would happen, falling in love with Murphy’s younger daughter was it. Especially as he hadn’t known Murphy even had a younger daughter. Then again, neither had Murphy or anyone else other than the Zona bastards who had made Helen and managed to control whatever made Lucy age and use it to get Helen the age they wanted without fear of it ever aging her accidentally.Which mean Helen was both too young for him while being physically and mentally three years older than him.And Murphy was one scary overprotective father now that a second chance at being one had dropped in his lap.She had to favor him in looks, too, on top of it all.Damn apocalypse.Or:Season Six





	1. Webisode Season Prologue: Once Upon a Time in the Age of Z

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilAdmin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilAdmin/gifts).



> Iiii have never written this fandom before. I just found it a few days before they announced the cancellation. 
> 
> So. Seriously. Comment and help me out. I’m trying to avoid Mary Sue-ingthis up. Which is easier to avoid than I thought since...she is Murphy’s daughter. 
> 
> But I’m nervous. Reviews and comments will see this season six version through to a wrapped up finale. 
> 
> Or a season seven. 
> 
> One of those.

There were few absolute truths in the apocalypse, but they did exist.One was this: Zona played chess, and they played it with every pawn a queen and a board filled with pawns. Every plan had a contingency plan. Every backup had its own backup.

 

Their plans for Lucy had been dubbed Operation Guiding Light. When they captured/rescued Murphy and Warren but Lucy slipped away, they put some backups into action.

 

Warren was immediately deemed their best chance at accomplishing Black Rainbow and the Reset. Murphy’s blood and genetic material was used to make two vaccines: one that worked perfectly and one that would slowly degrade and thin out some of the less suitable members of their community. And, since they did have genetic material from Murphy, they did one other thing immediately upon his arrival in Zona.

 

They started Operation Guiding Light 2.0.

 

After all, it was a critical part of Final Mercy.

 

***

 

Simply creating an embryo wasn’t enough. Modifications were made. The cause of Lucy’s unusual aging was determined, and the Zona scientists harnessed it. Light 2.0 would be artificially aged to a young adult, around 25, and then her aging locked for good. (Zona was fairly certain they could also halt the aging of others, given enough time to study the traits that Lucy and 2.0 shared. That was a significant bonus.)

 

Further engineering was meant to ensure the embryo took after its father as much as possible. They did manage to ensure it wouldn’t be blue. There was, however, a trade-off: its skin would have no pigment at all. Rather, it would be the color of bone, of snow, of hope. Pure white. Like a perfect white light.

 

It was deemed fitting.

 

They finally settled on 2.0 being a girl. It would have several missions, and a female could accomplish some of them, they decided, better than a male. A girl—woman—would likely also find it easier to get close to Murphy and the others, thanks to their connection to Lucy.

 

***

 

She was still just 2.0 when she was born, pale as a ghost and loud as a banshee with her father’s dark hair standing out on her head. No one was entirely sure which of the potential women donors deemed suitable had been used. Whichever one it had been had granted 2.0 dark green eyes with flecks of grey in one. Or perhaps that came from her father’s family as well. Or their tampering with her genes.

 

The doctor who delivered her, Peterson, meant to stay a clinical scientist.

 

Given the fact that in her first year of life 2.0 was allowed to age normally, that quickly became impossible. As a result, Melody Peterson was the closest thing to a mother 2.0 would ever know. Melody was also the one who insisted when 2.0 was six weeks old that a baby girl, even one as unique as this, needed a name rather than a designation.

 

The Founder considered this and then wheezed a laugh. “Very well. Her sister was named Lucy, and this is Guiding Light 2.0. Let the child be called Helen.”

 

Lucy, meaning light, from Latin.

 

Helen, meaning light, from Greek.

 

***

 

Even though she had the physical body ofa seven-year-old and had been born only three years ago, Helen listened at doors often enough and could read (minds as well as books) well enough that she came to understand that “Helen” was just another way of saying “Lucy 2.0”. Of calling her a consolation prize. A spare.

 

But Melody and some of the guards told her stories, and one of the guards nicknamed her Snow, after a princess who had to escape to save herself kingdom, even though a lot of scary things happened to her. A princess with skin as white as Helen’s own.

 

By the time Helen looked like she was 14, she refused to answer to anything other than Snow.

 

Being Snow was all her own. Her hair wasn’t black, though it was darker than her father’s. Her lips weren’t the color of blood, except for the times when the cravings hit and she simply ate meat raw, feeling the instant the iron and protein and sweet juice hit her tongue.

 

(People didn't come near her when she had the cravings.  It was the only time she felt fear from them towards her. Snow felt a lot of things from everyone, but the fear was all that hurt.)

 

Her father, she was told, had been blue. So had her (half) sister. Now her father was apparently red. Being Snow was all her own.

 

When she was ready to leave Zona, following the tugs inside to her father and the people she was told were meant to be her family, the only two people who called her Helen were Melody and the Founder when they said good-bye.

 

***

 

Snow stood where she’d been dropped off on the mainland and shifted her pack. She had plenty of gear and supplies—more than she needed by far. After all, she’d been trained with every method at Zona’s disposal, including the implantation of memories to make up for all the years she hadn’t actually lived. One of the things she’d been trained in was how to survive if she had nothing. But why make it hard on her?

 

Still, she thought it almost sweet they’d insisted she take so much with her. Especially since she’d reach her destination in a few hours at the most. With that thought in mind, Snow took one last look in the direction she knew Zona was in.

 

Turning around, she began to walk towards the presence she could feel inside her, calling to her, along with all the less strong ones around it. Calling her towards her father. His friends.

 

Her new family.

 

She couldn’t wait to meet them.


	2. Episode 6x1.1: Mazel Tov, Murphy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 6x1.1: A princess escaped a tower and now returns to her father’s realm. 
> 
> Or:
> 
> Snow enters Limbo, meets her father, Doc, and 10K, and has Moments with two of the three. 10K admits some truths to himself. Doc wants to teach Murphy safe sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments make this happen. New fandom is scary! Especially with an OC. 
> 
> We’re jumping in to the main stuff, but expect flashbacks in the future. Especially with 10K and Red.

Snow adjusted her gloves and the scarf that hid the skin of her neck and much of her face, grateful the cold weather made the apparel seem sensible.The sunglasses were for style, as well as to help cover her face, and the blush on her cheeks was the right shade to help the little visible skin seem less noticeable—especially inside a place with the kind of lighting she’d heard Limbo had. Once the glasses and scarf were off, though, her makeup was designed to make her skin, as well as her eyes and lips, pop.

 

(Yes, Snow wore makeup. Zona had its own equivalent of Sephora, and she liked to look her best. Much of her clothing was much nicer than that of most survivors, but she didn’t see it as a problem. Was it her fault she enjoyed nice things and had been given access to them? Considering everything she’d been through, designer clothing and makeup seemed the least Zona could do. Besides, she had more practical items stashed where she could get to them quickly and no one else could. Zombies for guards worked extremely well.)

 

Outside, now, she was getting a couple looks.But there were plenty of people with grey skin out there these days; white didn’t get a double look, unless you could really see just how white her skin was.And her ensemble helped make sure that wouldn’t happen until she was ready.

 

After all, she wanted to make an impression on her family with this being the first time they met her.Hopefully a good one, but definitely an impression no matter what. You can’t guarantee people will like you upon meeting you, but you can always guarantee you dazzle them.

 

Leather jacket adjusted, glock in its concealed holster and knives hidden all over her body, Snow pressed the button to buzz into Limbo.

 

There were zombies all around, and as she waited Snow sent them commands to watch her back.She trusted zombies more than humans.Well.More than humans who might be creeping up on her, anyway.

 

Or trying to.No one, not human, Talker, nor zombie, could sneak up on her.Her gifts and training might not work the same on all of them, but Zona had ensured she could use all of her talents extremely well.

 

"Password," came a voice from the box.

 

Snow smiles slightly, reaching out to the blend who was manning the door.

 

 _I’m_ _here_ _to_ _see_ _my_ _daddy_. _Let_ _me_ _in_. _And_ _don’t_ _tell_ _him_ _I’m_ _here_. _It’s_ _a_ _surprise_.

 

A moment passed before she was buzzed in.

 

Smiling as she walked inside, pulling out her crimson lipstick and reapplying a coat, Snow told the Zs she was leaving outside to go chase a squirrel.

 

They’d have fun with that.

 

***

 

10K hated Limbo, and not just because it was run by Murphy. It was too loud, too artificial—everything he’d been kept away from before the Zs came.

 

Also, he didn’t get the references when people re-enacted television episodes during talent hour. It was getting embarrassing to be the only one not laughing.

 

But Red and he had finally had a real, honest talk about what had gone on with him and Sarge, and...

 

“But Rachel, we were on a break!” one of the regular entertainers shouted on the stage as 10K tossed back some Z-shine.

 

Yeah. From what he’d been told of the show, Red was much of Rachel’s point of view. Apocalypse or not.

 

He didn’t look up as someone slid onto the stool next to him; just twisted his glass around with his remaining hand. (Another good reason to drink, or it felt like one for the moment at least.)

 

“Need another?” a soft voice asked, and he turned his head slowly to see a woman bundled up, all leather and denim with a streak in her dark hair the color of a Crayola red crayon, a red brighter than Addy’s hair.

 

The voice didn’t seem to match what he could see of her. She looked like she was perfectly at ease perching on that stool, but she sounded almost timid.

 

He saw red lips form a small smile where the folds of her scarf didn’t hide her face. “What?” he finally asked, feeling a little dumb.

 

The small smile looked like it was widening. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She raised her hand to signal the bartender. “On me. Z-shine, or a surprise?”

 

“Everything that’s not Z-shine is a fortune in bullets,” 10K said after a moment, trying to focus on the woman. The shifting strobe lights were making it hard.

 

She seemed to be considered, then pulled a magazine out of a pocket and tossed it to the bartender. “Something more palatable. For the both of us. Whole thing is yours if you find the owner and bring him here. I’d like to meet him.”

 

Snow reinforced the words to the blend bartender with a mental command, watched him smile and pour two glasses of something she knew was expensive from the bottle alone, then heading up some stairs.

 

The man next to her snorted and looked very young for a moment. “You do not want to meet the owner. Trust me.”

 

“Well, if I’m wrong, you can say you told me so,” she said calmly. “I’m Snow. You?”

 

He raised his glass after a moment to clink it with hers. “10K.”

 

She wanted to tell him she already knew. She could feel him. Much more strongly than some of the others. But she wasn’t getting any leaked thoughts and that...

 

That made him even more interesting than she already had thought him to be.

“A pleasure,” was all she said before sipping her drink.

 

There was a pause where he just looked at her like she was a puzzle that had dropped into his lap and he couldn’t figure out. “You’re not going to ask me about my name?”

 

Snow looked at him. “I go by Snow. Who am I to judge?”

 

He almost snorted his drink as he chuckled at that. “I think you’re the first person who didn’t ask about it.”

 

She shrugged. “It’s the apocalypse. People who take a new name, we either want to keep the old one precious and safe in our memories or separate ourselves from it entirely. Or maybe both.”She considered. “Though you could’ve just had really creative parents.”

 

That made him smile crookedly. “I did. But that’s not how I got the name.”

 

“I figured. What’re you doing in Limbo, 10K?”

 

10K just shrugged. “Drinking. Haven’t thought much further than that. Haven’t seen you anywhere around before, though.” Yeah, Newmerica had about 100,000 people in it, but people didn’t travel nearly as far or often from their homes as they used to. While Limbo did get new faces, it was mostly a regular crowd.

 

And 10K always watched crowds. They weren’t as dangerous as they used to be, thanks to Talkers and bizkits, but he felt more comfortable when he watched them. (Part of it might have been because, except for with Delta-X-ray-Delta, he felt like he never quit fit.)

 

She smiled. This time, he could see it clearly as she began to unwrap her scarf. “Oh, I’m new. First time away from home. I had to come here.”

 

10K didn’t even notice the footsteps that came up behind him, the faint hum in his mind that meant Murphy was near. He was too busy staring. “...Why?” How could this possibly be her first time away from home? Did she mean since the Zs hit?

 

Snow took off the sunglasses, smoothed her hair back, and removed the scarf entirely, then her gloves. “I wanted to meet my daddy.” She turner on her stool to face both 10K and the newly arrived Murphy, the two men wearing matching expressions with gaping mouths. “Hello, Daddy.” She smiled and spread her arms wide, and 10K saw Murphy in her expression and gesture as well as her features, heard him in her tone. “Surprise!”

 

After a long pause, Murphy reached out an empty hand to 10K, who put his mostly-full glass into it. Neither of them looked away from Snow throughout the process, nor when Murphy tossed the whole glass back at once.

 

Snow looked amused as she took them in. “This is where you say something back.”

 

Murphy stared before turning his head and yelling, “Dooooc!” in a slightly desperate tone.

 

10K just stared at the girl who looked like she’d been chiseled from marble and brought to life, at the way her nails and lips matched the streak in her hair.

 

He had an idea where she’d gotten the name Snow now that he could see her clearly.

 

Snow rested her head on on hand, arm propped up on the bar, and watched as an older man with a young female Talker (who was wearing...very little) under one arm showed up.

 

“Jesus, Murphy, give a guy a heart attack! What is it—ulp!”

 

10K slowly turned his head and joined Snow in watching Murphy grab Doc by the suspenders and pull the other man close.

 

“Doc,” he said with deliberate calm, “I’m seeing an albino young woman who looks like my mother and is calling me Daddy. Please tell me you did something to the last batch of Z-Weed to cause a hallucination like this?”

 

Doc turned his head to look at Snow, then 10K, then Snow again.

 

She smiled and waved a little at him with her free hand.

 

“—Dammit, Murphy! How hard is it to keep it in your pants or wear a condom?!” Doc yelled.

 

“It—I have, Doc! And you may notice she’s too old—“

 

“ _She_ is sitting right here,” Snow interrupted smoothly. “And I’m not an albino. No red eyes, dark hair. Zona just decided against blue. A little genetic engineering for the skin and to control that whole aging deal, and voila! Here I am.” After a moment’s thought, she smirked and raised her glass to the staring Murphy. “Mazel Tov, Daddy.”

 

"Zona," Murphy said in a dangerously quiet voice that 10K knew from experience meant the red man was upset and trying to control it.

 

"Oh yeah," Snow replied, sipping her own drink."I was one of their first projects when you arrived.They didn’t have Lucy, so…apparently I’m the next best thing," and the mixture of mocking and bitterness was all Murphy too.

 

"Zona named you Snow?" Doc blurted.

 

"I don’t think that’s one of the questions we need to be asking right now, Doc," Murphy hissed through clenched teeth.

 

"No," Snow said coldly, eyes glittering in the lights as she focused her gaze on Doc."They named me 2.0."

 

Silence would have fallen, except they were in Limbo.Silence was hard to come by.

 

"Well," Doc said awkwardly, moving away from the Talker he’d approached with, "welcome to the family, Snow!" He engulfed her in a hug and was mildly surprised at how tightly the woman hugged him back. 

 

"Who said anything about her being family?" Murphy asked darkly.

 

"Murphy!" Doc scolded, watching Snow’s face fall before her expression went cold.

 

10K took the opportunity to elbow Murphy in the gut for that.Hard.The older man whoofed out a breath and glared at the younger one before broodily leaning against the bar.

 

"So…how old are you, exactly, Snow?" Doc asked, in part to fill the silence.Semi-silence.A lull in the conversation, anyway.

 

"Somewhere around 26," she said nonchalantly, focusing on him rather than her father."They were shooting for 25 before they age-locked me, but they missed it by a little."

 

"Age-locked?"

 

"Zona’s Zona," she answered with a shrug, but her eyes had shuttered."That should be answer enough."

 

The edge to her voice made 10K stare at her.She was Murphy, but not.His features blurred and softened on her face.His smile, a similar nose—

 

Something about the eyes was different.Darker hair, but given the stripe in it, he couldn’t be sure if she’d darkened the rest with dye too.And where the hell had she found hair dye, anyway?Or makeup?It was the apocalypse and she was walking around looking like a heavily armed runway model.

 

Not that he was attracted.Not that.Frick, she was Murphy’s kid—well, daughter—that should be answer enough about if he was attracted to her or not.

 

He needed another drink.

 

"Okay," Doc said slowly, "but what I meant was, well—"

 

"How long since I was born?" Snow asked, and Doc nodded, grateful he hadn’t had to find the words."About two and a half years."

 

"So…you were there when Murphy and Warren were on Zona," 10K said slowly, and Murphy stiffened behind him.

 

"Yes.It was one of the reasons it was important they suppress Daddy’s gifts.They didn’t want him sensing me."

 

"I’m not your Daddy," Murphy muttered, and this time Snow’s face darkened.

 

"Yes.You are.And I’m not leaving.”

 

Father and daughter stared at each other for several seconds before Doc gently touched Murphy’s arm."Murphy.Don’t throw this away.She’s not trying to be Lucy.She could have kept 2.0 if she wanted to do that.You’ve got another chance, man."

 

Something broke in Murphy’s expression at that, and he stepped closer to Snow, crouched slightly to study her stony expression. 

 

She didn’t look like Lucy.

 

She did look so very much like his mother, though.

 

Like him.

 

Hand shaking slightly, he reached up and cupped her cheek, and Snow closed her eyes.

 

"I can feel you," he said roughly.

 

"I’m letting you," Snow replied simply."I just—I wanted to surprise you.I thought you’d be…I don’t know.Happy, I guess?I mean, I know I’m older than you’d expect—"

 

"I didn’t expect anything.So you can’t disappoint me," Murphy replied, and 10K felt like an intruder as he watched the man he still mostly hated envelop Snow in his arms and hold on tightly.

 

The buzz in his mind was louder now, 10K realized, and wondered if it was because of what Murphy was feeling or because, well…Snow was there, too.

 

He startled when he felt a hand land on his shoulder."Maybe we should leave the two of them alone," Doc suggested gently.

 

Snow shook her head from where she was embracing her father, reached up with one hand to wipe her eyes."No, stay!Please.I want to get to know you too."

 

Murphy straightened."And we should welcome my daughter," and the words were said with a kind of wonder to them, "properly.Wait here.I’ll be back," he promised, glancing over his shoulder at Snow like she’d disappear as he left.

 

“They really just named you 2.0?” 10K found himself asking, a small fire starting to churn inside.

 

Snow looked away from where Murphy had been to him and managed a weak smile. “Originally. They did name me something when Melody insisted, but...it really was just a nice way of saying 2.0. Besides. Snow fits me, don’t you think?”

 

“I’ll say. And I’ve got a feeling you’re going to get the princess treatment to match the name,” Doc laughed, and 10K jerked.

 

He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten for a moment that Doc was there.

 

“I’ve been treated like a princess.Got the locked in a tower thing along with the rest. I just want to be treated like a human. Even if I’m not entirely one. You understand what I mean, right?”

 

10K felt himself tense.

 

Doc opened and closed his mouth before saying, “I’m...gonna go see where the young lady I was with wandered off to,” and fled as quickly as he could.

 

10K stared as Snow reaches our unflinchingly and touched the place where his right arm ended. “What happened here?”

 

He shrugged, considered pulling away. Didn’t. “Z bit me.”

 

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked up to meet his eyes. Snow held his gaze for a few minutes and the buzz was different, smoother, than the one from Murphy.

 

“Stop,” he said roughly.

 

Snow neither asked what he meant nor stopped, though the buzz quieted down. (Was buzz the right word? It was around Murphy, but this...was different. He didn’t know how to explain it, but no one was asking for an explanation.)

 

“This is recent, though. I can feel you. You’re immune.”

 

He just. Froze. Couldn’t think beyond those words.

 

Because he’d been trying not to think that very thing for so long, since Red did it, and now there the words were, out loud and hanging in the space between their faces. And that was why, he admitted to himself. Why he’d brought up Sarge with Red.

 

He’d wanted to hurt her. He didn’t know what he wanted with her anymore beyond to have her truly grasp something of what he felt. And so much of what he felt was just loss and pain, even now. The spike on the stump helped, but—

 

It wasn’t the same.

 

He startled as Snow reached up and touched his cheek with the back of one hand. Partially because he wasn’t expecting it, but partially because she was colder than she should have been. Not freezing, but he doubted her average temp was 98.6. 

 

He didn’t pull away though, just let her look at him for another moment before saying softly, “You’re different. Not like me. But not like the blends or the Talkers or Zs. You’re interesting.”She leaned in, pressed her forehead to his, and smiled a surprisingly childlike smile. “I like new and interesting and different. I hope we get to be friends. I’ve never had one.” She pulled back at that and finished her drink. “Daddy’s calling. Wanna come?”

 

10K slowly shook his head as she stood and reached out for the bottle to refill his own glass that Murphy had drained. Setting it down and replacing the cap, he finally said, “Maybe when I finish this.”

 

“Enjoy it for me. I’m pretty sure I bought the bottle. I hope I see you and Doc later!” Snow called before disappearing in the crowd.

 

Doc quickly reappeared. Too quickly—10K was sure he’d stayed close enough to watch, though he doubted the older man could have heard them. “Jesus. Another mini-Murphy. Seems sweet though. And...pale. What the hell was that with you two just now?”

 

10K looked at the liquid in his glass before saying simply, “I’ve no idea,” and slamming the liquid back.

 

It burned all the way down, leaving his body feeling warm.

 

But his mind felt warm and like it had been soothed as that new, different buzz—more a hum, really, than Murphy’s buzz—softened but didn’t leave as Snow grew farther away.


	3. Episode 6x1.2: Mazel Tov, Murphy! (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Big Red One introduces his daughter, the Princess of Limbo. Doc worries about 10K. A lot. 10K notices the shade of Snow's eyes. Snow gets a room to herself and has some moments with her father. Hair and makeup are proven to be important, Snow changes back into her original clothing. A door is opened before it can be knocked and locked when it's closed.
> 
> In between, there's a clicking sound that only Snow knows the cause of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. My. God. This FIC. It demands I write it. Good Lord. Thank you, OFC, for taking up residence in my brain. I can't draw you with 10K and/or your dad AND write about you at the same time!

Doc jumped a little as Murphy reappeared a few moments after Snow had left, clapping his hands excitedly on 10K’s and Doc’s own shoulders."Again, Murphy, heart attack!I’m an old man!"

 

Murphy rolled his eyes."Doc, you’re in the Zompocalyspe.If you haven’t died from surprise yet, you’re not going to."

 

Doc had to admit that was a point—but he didn’t have to admit it out loud.So instead he rolled his eyes and reached for the bottle on the bar that 10K had said they apparently had been given by Snow.Or 10K had, anyway, and the kid was happy to share.

 

Also, it meant Doc could slow down the speed of 10K’s drinking.That didn’t hurt either.Thing was, 10K seemed to be burning through the alcohol fast enough he was barely tipsy. 

 

Or maybe the kid hadn’t had as much as Doc feared.He really hoped that it was that.He really suspected it wasn’t.

 

"What is it, Murphy?" Doc sighed, while 10K kept drinking, though he turned his head to look at the Big Red One while doing so.

 

"Oh, you don’t want to miss this," Murphy said with a grin."Come on, I’ll make sure you’re close up to see it."When they didn’t move, Murphy rolled his eyes."Are you coming?"

 

"May as well," 10K said evenly, surprising Doc.The younger man rose, glass in hand, and arched an eyebrow."You’re not exactly going to leave us alone unless we agree anyway, are you?"

 

Murphy grinned."Nope."

 

The two men followed Murphy to the stage and were surprised when he hauled them up onto it after him."Trust me, this is worth it," he said with a grin before clapping his hands together twice.

 

The music stopped and lights went out before some aimed at Murphy (and his two, now extremely self-conscious, companions) turned on, bathing them in white and scarlet shades.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen—and anyone else who has survived—I hope you’re enjoying your stay in the new, better, more hedonistic Limbo!"

 

The cheers that got made Murphy wink cockily at Doc who just sighed.Murphy was going to do whatever he had planned.And apparently, he and 10K were going to see it up closed.

 

The look on 10K’s face had him more concerned than anything else, though.He wasn’t sure what was going on in the kid’s head.Hell, he wasn’t even sure about what was going on in the kid’s body, if he was honest.Hadn’t been since Murphy bit him.But bringing that up never had seemed like a good idea.

 

Now Doc was wondering if he should have—oh, wait.Murphy was talking again and had put and arm around both him and 10K.What surprised Doc most was that 10K seemed almost distracted and was allowing Murphy to do it instead of shrugging the arm off.

 

"As the proprietor of this den of inequity and loose morality, almost nothing warms my heart as much as knowing you’re enjoying it."Murphy’s grin turned into a smirk." _Almost_  nothing.The Big Red One is the king of Limbo, and on that note, my friends, I’d like to introduce you to its princess.My daughter," and Doc, if no one else, could hear that change to Murphy’s voice at those words, "Snow."

 

Some of the lights moved to point at an entrance to the main area by the stage, and Doc’s jaw dropped.

 

No wonder it had taken Murphy some time to get this all together. If anything, Doc was surprised it hadn’t taken longer.Snow’s hair had been intricately braided and pinned, the red streak looking like a ribbon throughout it. _Matches her father, at least,_ Doc thought, then took in the black dress with red accents and the heeled ankle boots laced and tied with red satin ribbons.

 

Matched Murphy perfectly, and set off Snow’s skin to great effect. 

 

Snow, Doc realized, had a way about her of capturing your attention; he’d seen her do it when talking with 10K before just by _how_ she spoke with him.  Now, dressed by her father and under the spotlights, she did it with her appearance—but it wasn't just the clothing.

 

 _I’ve been treated like a princess,_ she’d said.

 

She definitely knew how to hold herself like one.

 

The moment she reached Murphy, though, that changed.She seemed shy around her father, now that he’d accepted her, and there was a sense of uncertainty Doc picked up in her eyes when she looked up at Murphy.

 

it disappeared as Murphy gave her a real smile, a little uncertain himself—one more genuine than the grins and smirks the rest of Limbo had been receiving.

 

Snow’s face lit up before she suddenly wrapped her arms around her father and Murphy did the same in return.

 

Quietly, as the cheers and applause built again, Doc asked 10K, "Well, what d’you think of our Snow?"

 

"I think she looked better before," 10K answered, and Doc was surprised at the faint trace of anger there. He turned his head and saw 10K was staring at the father-daughter duo with an indescribable expression on his face."Besides, with her eyes, I think she’d look better in green."

 

"So…you noticed her eyes, huh?" Doc said as nonchalantly as he could.

 

10K sent him a sideways glare."She put her forehead against mine.It was hard to miss them."

 

 _But you paid attention to them enough you’re commenting on her color choice._ The irony that green was red’s opposite on the color wheel didn’t escape Doc.He doubted 10K knew that, though.

 

"I’ve got a feeling she’s going to have a lot of clothing choices," Doc said, deciding to let the topic rest for now.Considering 10K was like a son to him, though…Well.He suddenly had a headache as he thought about just how complicated this could get.

 

He really hoped he was worrying about nothing.

 

And Doc hated the little voice in his head that reminded him so far, he’d been right every time he worried like this.

 

He needed some Z-weed.

 

Still, it was good to see the look on Murphy’s face—genuine, if nervous, delight, delight taken in something that didn’t involve a carnal pleasure in one form or another—as his daughter held him and was held back.Snow even had some color in her cheeks that Doc supposed counted as a blush for her.The only problem was that though her head was resting on Murphy’s chest, it was turned so she was looking at directly at him and 10K.

 

Glancing at the young man, Doc noticed that he was staring back, unblinking, holding Snow’s gaze.

 

He really wished he had some weed right then.Because he felt a headache looming.And it was a killer.

 

***

 

"Aaaaand this is your room!Now.Well.It was for—anyway.The blends are getting a wardrobe together for you.We can get anything you want.Walls painted your favorite color, already have new sheets, but we’ll get the color you want—"

 

"Daddy!Dad," Snow interrupted, laughing softly as she brushed a loose strand of hair back."I…didn’t come here to be spoiled.It’s okay.We’ll figure out how I like my room.Thank you."

 

Murphy took a deep breath and let it out.  He was silent for a few seconds which he spent simply looking at her before saying honestly, "I don’t know how to do this.Any of it.I didn’t with Lucy, and—"

 

"I’m not Lucy.And I can help you.You can help me.We’ll figure it out."Snow was proud her voice hadn’t become sharp when she mentioned Lucy.It helped that she was excited about just how she could help her dad with their relationship.Should she do it now?

 

—No.Too soon, and she should probably settle in more first.Besides, after having touched 10K and felt his mental walls disappear, having seen just a bit, she had something she needed to take care of.

 

Which reminded her."Um.I have some Zs guarding my things.I…kinda have a lot?Can I have them bring it all here?"

 

Murphy hesitated."Iiii think blends would be a much better option.Definitely.I’ll go tell—"

 

"Oh, I can.I know where it all is," Snow said brightly, and before Murphy could say anything more, two women and one man had left the room they’d been helping get ready."They’ll grab some help.My Zs won’t touch them."

 

Murphy paused and took his daughter in all over again."You...can use my blends."  There was no judgment or anger in his voice, to Snow's relief--should she have asked?  She'd never had to ask about any of this, really, but then that had been because she was always  _told_ what to do with her gifts.  He just sounded curious.

 

"I don’t...that word, I don't like that word. _Use_.You were going to send them.I just showed them the way.Besides, I’m your daughter.Of course, I can.Zona spent a long time making sure of it."

 

Murphy recalled the dead blends they’d seen when escaping Zona and wondered if there was a connection. 

 

He didn’t want to know if so.Not now, anyway.

 

"Did they hurt you?" he asked in a quiet, careful voice.

 

Snow paused in going through the clothing in her new closet, admiring pieces here and there."Everybody hurts everybody else, Daddy.Way of the world."  She didn't look back at him either during or after saying it.

 

His heart hurt at that, and once again he thought that it was no wonder with pain like this he still sometimes had a hard time believing he was dead."I will _never_ hurt you," he swore, and when Snow stopped what she was doing, came over and pulled him into another one of her tight hugs, he swore it anew in his heart.

 

That, and he wrapped her up just as tightly, tried not to imagine a blue-skinned woman with blond hair next to her sister, the three of them holding each other, and held on.

 

They both did.

 

***

 

Snow stared into the mirror.She’d been doing so for approximately twelve and a half minutes. She wasn’t sure she even saw herself anymore, just shapes and colors.

 

The red had to go.The glimpse she had of 10K’s mind made it clear.Red was Bad.It wasn’t an association she wanted to be made with her if the thought of the color made him feel so hurt and angry.

 

She reached into one of the many boxes she’d brought from Zona—and the expression on her father’s face, as well as the one on Doc’s, had made her laugh in delight at their disbelief she’d brought so much with her—to pull out a small spray bottle.

 

She misted it over the red streak in her hair, watched the nanites eat away at the artificially-constructed crimson coating that had covered each strand.

 

Then she pulled another can out and examined the settings.

 

What color, what color…what color to use…

 

She’d used blue before, blue streaks, blue lipstick.Snow the Snow Queen.But blue was Bad, too, now.That was Lucy.

 

She’d seen flashes of her sister in her father’s mind.It wasn’t fair.She didn’t hate Lucy, but her sister was dead.She was there, alive—well, sorta—and she didn’t look a damned thing like Lucy had.And yet, she knew she wasn’t the person her father saw some of the times he looked at her.

 

So.No red, no blue.

 

Settled, she set the color to a certain shade and hue of green and pinned her hair away and up except for one section on each side.Snow always took particular care with her hair.Part of it was because she wanted to look nice, but part of it was simply that she felt anyone with hair long enough to grab in the apocalypse should have the sense to know said hair intimately.It was a body part, after all, like any other.Dead even as it was born, in a way. 

 

Just like her.

 

The thought made her reflection smile as she took one last moment to make sure the two sections were neatly across from each other over the part above her left eye.The timer on the can went off and she applied the green coloring, watching as the two streaks slowly shifted in color until they matched that of her eyes.

 

Maybe she’d put silver clips into the one side to match the grey flecks in that eye.Sometimes, anyway.It was a thought.

 

Reaching into her makeup box, Snow found green lipstick and nail polish which she applied as the nanites finished the work of creating the green silk blend (blended with what, well, she’d rather not know, she suspected) over each individual strand.

 

Nails done, she looked in the mirror and frowned slightly.The hair was fantastic, but the lipstick…no.She reached into the smaller of her two makeup trunks and fumbled amongst the lipsticks, finally smiling when she found a burgundy.That was much better.Not quite red, not quite not.And it suited her skin.

 

Then again, everything suited her skin.

 

She set the tube down on the vanity stand and quickly stripped out of the outfit her father had given her, hanging it with care as she placed it in the closet, the boots beneath it with the satin bows re-tied.An outfit from her father.A _room_ from her father, her daddy.Snow had to touch the sleeve of the dress one more time, reassure herself all of this was real, before she slipped on a camisole and green silk blouse, dark grey jeans, and her black boots she’d arrived in.

 

Elegant and tough with a splash of color was what her reflection said to her as she examined herself in the full-length mirror. 

 

Returning to the vanity, she applied the lipstick, then a few different shades of purple eyeshadow and black mascara.

 

Now her reflection also said _fun_ , and that was important.That would help her make friends.She hoped. 

 

Snow couldn’t help but wonder if her father knew she was out of her depth just being off Zona and meeting people at all.She never _met_ anyone on Zona; they were brought to her, introduced to her, and then they left.She hadn’t lied to 10K about not having friends.

 

Speaking of 10K…

 

She took a moment to glance at the silver watch on her wrist and smile faintly.Time for one last thing.As she slipped a new set of silver, pistol-shaped studs into some of the holes in her ears, she made sure to put her makeup away neatly.There was a barely audible _click_ just a second too soon for it to have been from her closing the case, but no one but Snow was there to hear it.And she already knew the cause.

 

She slipped her holster back on, knives already hidden against her skin under her clothing, and opened her door as she put the 9 mm into it.

 

10K was standing there, jaw set and eyes dark, waiting.

 

Snow smiled brightly."Hi!You’re right on time."

 

Another second passed before 10K entered her room.

 

Smiling still, Snow closed the door behind him.

 

She made sure to lock it.


	4. Episode 6x1.3: Mazel Tov, Murphy (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback. 10K and Snow talk. Snow reveals exactly how Zona age-locked her. A friendship is started. Murphy doesn't want his daughter alone with a boy. Or a girl. And plans are made.

**_A few hours ago, on the stage…_ **

 

10K couldn’t take his eyes away from Snow from the moment she appeared.It wasn’t becauseshe was beautiful—which, yes, he’d admit she was—or because of the different clothing.It was that fricking _hum_.

 

That damned hum, like the warmth of a shot of alcohol without the burn.Like sleeping on an actual mattress in warm sunshine.Like…

 

Like neither of those things, really, but he couldn’t stop trying to classify it in his mind.It wasn’t just a sensation, either, was the strange thing.Not like the buzz he’d grown used to being generated by Murphy since Warren had killed him and Murphy had bitten him again.There was also the feeling of it being almost tangible, and 10K couldn’t quite stop trying to catch it, the experience like trying to grab the string of a kite that’s been torn from his grasp like a gust of strong wind.

 

Murphy was talking.Doc was talking, and he was responding automatically, more emotion in his voice about his feelings on her new look than he meant fo there to be. But still, he didn’t like her looking even more like Murphy.He didn’t know why, or, at least, 10K wasn’t _letting_ himself know why.Maybe?He wasn’t sure.It was an instinctive reaction and one he’d never had with Lucy.Lucy hadn’t looked so much like her father, though and—and that humming had changed, now, as Snow met his gaze and held it.

 

_Can you hear me?_

 

It was the hum, in his grasp, finally, and it translated into those words, and he knew, somehow, that it came from Snow.

 

More humming. _Your walls aren’t as strong since we touched.And you’re thinking about me.Do you know how to send back?Can you?_

 

No, he didn’t know the answer to either of those, and he tried not to look exasperated or as freaked out as he was feeling over all of this.That didn’t mean he could stop his body from tensing all over again.Nor could he stop the brief glare at Snow.

 

This time it wasn’t a hum.It was laughter. _I’m sorry.Here.This is how,_ and it was like a box was opened in his mind.There weren’t words to explain how to do it, though he was able to catch glimpses from Snow of tests and lessons with Zs.She blocked the glimpses off as soon as he saw them, though, and left him with how to reach out to her.

 

As Murphy spoke to the crowd and Doc, much to 10K’s discomfort, seemed to be eyeing him, 10K kept himself from biting his lip and fumblingly tried.

 

_Like this?_

 

Snow smiled at him from where her head rested on her father’s chest.

 

_I was right.You are different.Maybe more like me than I thought.If you want to talk—really talk—come find me in three hours.I have a feeling Daddy and I are going to be a little busy, and I need to grab my stuff._

 

10K didn’t reply mentally, nor did he do so immediately.After a few seconds, when Murphy had drawn Doc’s attention away from him, 10K gave Snow a small, short nod.

 

She smirked at him, and 10K couldn’t quite keep himself from thinking that he’d seen the same smirk before.

 

It looked better on Snow than on Murphy.

 

***

 

**_Now, in Snow’s room…_ **

 

The room was…wow.Murphy had already gone all out for Snow, and 10K was sure that Big Red wasn’t done yet.He was also sure he didn’t want to know what the room had been used for before Snow’s occupancy, or how Murphy had managed to get things for her so (relatively, in Zompocalypse time) quickly.

 

Having taken the room in, he focused on Snow and blinked."You changed your hair."

 

"Zona brand hair coloring makes it easy to do.What do you think?" she asked with a smile, twirling playfully. 

 

"…It matches your eyes," 10K said, not knowing if he should say all the other things he thought or not. Wondering a little if she’d heard his comment about her looking better in green.

 

If she had, she didn’t give any indication of it, nor of her knowing what he was thinking."Thank you!So."She flopped sideways onto a loveseat that had been placed at the foot of her bed, folded her arms behind her head and gave him again the same smirk from earlier."Why are you here?"

 

10K shifted his weight as he looked at her."You invited me."

 

Snow rolled her eyes."Okay, let me rephrase: why did you say yes?"

 

He paused, considering the question and then his words."Because…I think you’re right.That I’m different.I think you know more about it than I do, and I want to know."

 

She studied him."That all?"

 

10K gave her a small smile."And because I figured you meant the thing about not having had a friend and thought you might need someone to talk to, too."

 

He was rewarded with a bright, beaming smile instead of the smirk.

 

He didn’t know which he liked more on her, but the way her eyes just lit up—that made her capture his attention all over again.

 

"Oh, we’re definitely being friends," she said, still smiling as she hopped off the loveseat."Come on, then."

 

The look he gave her at that made her want to laugh.His eyes were so expressive that the rest of his face could change just slightly and she’d know his thoughts changed, too."Where, exactly?"

 

She grinned and walked over to her window, opening it and beginning to climb out."Now, what fun would telling you be?"

 

10K sighed even as he grinned a little himself.

 

He had to admit, he was definitely liking Snow.

 

(And that was _all_ he had to admit, even to himself.)

 

***

 

"Is there a reason we had to climb a fire escape to the roof?" 10K huffed as he hauled himself over the edge.

 

"Call it a gut feeling," she said simply."We’ll get more time alone up here.Trust me.I like heights, anyway.Zona has a room where you can skydive indoors.Maybe someday I’ll do it outside."That last was said wistfully as she balanced on the edge and looked out over the landscape.

 

"I can’t imagine a world where people waste fuel for something like that," 10K said dryly, sitting down and letting his legs hang over the ledge.

 

Snow joined him after a moment."We’ll have to work on your imagination, then," she said with a small smile.

 

10K blinked and felt uncertain.It felt like there was innuendo there, somehow, and he couldn’t figure out why.

 

"So," Snow said, changing the subject easily, "how long since you died?"

 

10K swallowed hard and paused before asking a question instead of answering."How do you know?"

 

"I was conceived with tissue from a deadman.I mean, yeah, Zona made him think he was cured, but really?They just wanted to make it so he couldn’t sense either me or that Lucy wasn’t dead.Besides, you can’t _cure_ death.It lingers.He’s just…temporarily more vital again.So am I. Killed and revived three months ago.Deliberately stopped my heart, then restarted it."She blinked at the sudden rage on 10K’s face and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

 

It just…it was what it was.It was her life.And her death.And her life again.Of all the things she hated Zona for, killing her wasn’t really that high on the list.

 

She had so very much to hold against them, after all.

 

So Snow shrugged finally and continued, voice gentle."I’m sorry.That sounded odd, didn’t it?That’s how they age-locked me.The dead don’t age.Though it takes a while to notice, if you’re not a kid."She watched his face and _listened_ , listened with her mind, as she watched him."…You didn’t know you wouldn’t age."

 

10K realized his breathing was ragged as he shook his head.He swallowed hard, swallowed again more easily."No," he admitted softly."I figured I was just…I don’t know.I didn’t think about it.There’ve been a lot of other things to think about."

 

He was surprised when Snow reached out and laced her fingers with his, just holding his hand.

 

"You’re not the only one," she offered after a moment."There’s me, and my dad," and Snow ignored the flavor of distaste that colored 10K’s thoughts at the mention of her father, "and there are others, too.And they’re close.Not the Talkers, though…they’re kinda like us.But there are others touched by death.I’ve been feeling them all my life."

 

10K thought of Addy and Warren, though he didn’t say anything.It wasn’t even about a matter of trust so much as…well.It wasn’t his to share.

 

"I don’t know if they can all do what I can. What we can," she corrected herself."You…you had walls, but not to me.Not anymore.More like just a fence.I can show you how to do more, if you want."

 

"More?"

 

Snow smiled, that bright smile that was so open and lit up her face and caught all of his attention at once."I’m told I’m a gifted girl."

 

"You’re not a girl," he said automatically, without thinking, then blushed."I meant that you’re not a child."

 

"I think my father would disagree with you," she said a little wryly, turning her head to the actual access door to the roof. 

 

Attention drawn to it, 10K heard some muffled sounds behind it.

 

"Yeah, this is why I locked my door and we took the window.I have a feeling he doesn’t like the idea of me alone with a guy."Snow sounded almost touched.

 

Murphy burst through the door, glaring at 10K like it was _his_ fault that Snow had locked the door and taken them to the damn roof.

 

"You.Away. _Now_ ," Murphy ordered.

 

10K narrowed his eyes and found that it was easy to ignore the buzz from Murphy with the hum from Snow there to drown it out."No," he replied, in part because he didn’t listen to orders from Murphy.Never again.

 

But he also said it in part because Snow—Snow and her mind, her uncertainty he was starting to notice that she hid behind boldness, so much like the way he’d hid behind being quiet, Snow and all the things she had to say—was interesting.Amazing.

 

She was beautiful, but that was almost an afterthought.

 

"Dad.I’m 26—"

 

"You’re not even three!And if you take after me, I _definitely_ don’t want you alone with boys!"

 

Snow smirked at that and winked at 10K once."What about girls?"

 

Murphy’s impression of a fish with its mouth stuck open had 10K hiding a laugh behind his left hand, pretending to cough.

 

"No!No girls either!"

 

"Genderfluid?  Non-binary?  Intersex?"

 

"Snow Murphy…"Suddenly Murphy grinned."I think I’m proud."

 

She preened slightly at that and winked at 10K again.

 

Murphy caught it and said, quickly, "But back inside to your room, now, anyway, okay?"

 

She managed not to roll her eyes at that and looked over at 10K."Wanna meet up tomorrow?"

 

10K looked at her and nodded once."I’ll be here."

 

Murphy continued grumbling and pulled Snow away and down the stairs.

 

But she mentally sent another message to 10K even as she left. _I’ll find you._

 

And then, a moment later, _Wonder how long it’ll take for him to realize that I’m going to have to pick the lock to my room going in this way.This should be fun._

 

10K found himself smiling faintly.

 

It didn’t occur to him until he went to curl up and sleep that night that Snow had managed to distract him from Red.


	5. Episode 6x1.4: Mazel Tov, Murphy! (Part Four | Episode End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a dream--or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, two back to back updates. This episode is wrapped up.
> 
> Soon: 10K avoids Red. Red avoids 10K. Doc talks to Snow. Mentions of Warren. And Sun Mei's work is discussed--as is why the cure doesn't seem ready yet. Snow has her secrets. So does her father. 
> 
> More from Zona.
> 
> And a kiss.

10K wanted to scream, but he couldn’t make a sound.

 

Doc was turning to skin and bones and then dust before his eyes.

 

Red was looking at him with hate hotter than what he felt towards her—and he didn’t honestly know what he felt towards her anymore, but it wasn’t the love he once had felt, that he has been telling himself was still there and pretending into his actions—as her hair became grey, her cheeks sagged, lines appeared, and she walked away.

 

And he remained the same.Always the same, never aging, never changing—

 

"—That’s quite enough," came Snow’s voice and 10K snapped into control of himself, realized he’s dreaming and gasped for breath.

 

A cool body pressed against his and held him tightly.He knew it had to be Snow, knew this wasn’t a normal dream anymore, but at least it wasn’t a nightmare anymore, either.The coolness of her body was more calming than the warmth of Red’s would be, he thought, and thought that that was wrong.Wrong, but still true.

 

Jesus, he had to talk to Red, but he wasn’t sure what to say.

 

"Hey.It’s okay.It’s going to be okay," Snow said softly, stepped back and reached for his hand.

 

No.For his _hands_ , both right and left.She squeezed them firmly and he felt every bit of pressure, of coolness, of her palms against both of his.

 

"How the _fuck_ are you here?" he demanded, but it wasn’t out of anger.Just disbelief. 

 

"Honestly?I’m not sure.I just…I thought the aging thing—I wouldn’t have dropped it on you like that if I’d known you didn’t have a clue.It’s something I’ve always known as just…fact.Like that the sky is blue and water is wet.I was thinking about you while I fell asleep and I think…I think I was reaching out to check on you when I fell asleep.That’s my guess.But it felt like you were reaching back.So maybe it’s both of us."

 

Snow studied 10K, brushed his hair out of his face and smiled faintly. "You need a haircut."

 

10K blinked."Only barbers I know of I do _not_ trust to cut my hair."Sketchy and Skeezy might have saved his life more than once, but…no.

 

She laughed, and the sound tugged a small smile out of him."I think I can help with that.If you trust my sense of style."

 

"…No dye in my hair," 10K said after a moment, eyes narrowed.He might have still been smiling.

 

"I promise nothing," Snow retorted, and this time he was the one laughing.It wasn’t like hers, open and unafraid of who heard her.But it was a low chuckle, and it was honest, and it made her smile soften.

 

"…Want to do something fun?"

 

He blinked."Like what exactly?"

 

"Well.Seems like you’re lucid dreaming now.We both are?Something like that."She grinned.The showmanship from Murphy was obviously inherited, because 10K was sure that it was unnecessary for her to snap her fingers to change anything.He _did_ know that much about lucid dreaming.

 

But Snow doing it was charming, whereas with Murphy it was just another reminder he was a pain in the ass.

 

(He hadn’t liked it earlier when Murphy called her, "Snow Murphy".He realized that now and _really_ didn’t want to think about why in detail.)

 

She snapped her fingers and changed the world.They were standing in a plane, the thrum of it running through 10K, and the door (was it called a door?) was open, showing beautiful green in all different shades beneath them.

 

"Let’s skydive.We don’t even have to worry about hitting the ground."

 

10K looked away from the green grass and trees into green eyes instead and realized there were just as many shades of green in Snow’s eyes as beneath them.Maybe more."You’re a little crazy."

 

"Yeah, but it makes me adorable," she retorted and this time he laughed for real."So?"She let go of his left hand and held onto his right one only.

 

10K shook his head, grinning.

 

They jumped.

 

***

 

10K jerked awake, sitting straight up.

 

It had been a dream.Just a dream.

 

Was it just a dream?Had Snow really been there?

 

He could probably find out, but he…no.He wasn’t ready.If she brought it up, fine.But if she didn’t, until she did, it was just a dream.

 

Except.

 

He could still feel her holding his right hand.

 

***

 

Snow opened her eyes and sat up slowly in the canopy bed, smiling faintly.

 

Well, that had been fun.Unexpected—she hadn’t been lying about not having planned that or being unsure about how it happened—but fun.More importantly, she’d been able to help him, she hoped.At least for a little while.

 

She knew 10K had woken too, but she decided against poking him mentally.His thoughts and emotions were all over the place.She didn’t want to eavesdrop beyond what she couldn’t help hearing, knowing, and he needed to sort through some of this on his own.

 

She idly wondered how long she’d hold to that resolution as she sat up and reached for a satin robe before shrugging mentally. 

 

Probably not that long.10K was like her, even if he wasn’t the same.She didn’t know anyone else like her except her father.She could _feel_ there were others, but she didn’t _know_ them yet.And she wanted to meet them properly.

 

But Snow already knew 10K, and she wanted him for a friend.She needed a friend.And he was…

 

He was a lot of things, some of which made her blush as much as her body was capable of before she shook the thoughts away.

 

For now.

 

Snow sighed and moved to her vanity and makeup box. 

 

Opening it, she took off the "Z" shaped pendant that hung around her neck and pressed the letter into faint indentations into the side of the box.

 

The same click she’d heard before when closing the box occurred, followed by a low series of erratic beeps.

 

She removed the pendant after a moment and waited.

 

More beeps came, and she smiled faintly as she translated them into letters, then used the cypher she’d been taught.

 

Zona knew she’d arrived safely.They weren’t giving her information about anything she _wanted_ to know—they’d never told her about 10K, and she couldn’t believe Zona was ignorant of someone like him being around, after all—for the most part.But they promised her uncle would visit.

 

Good.She missed him.And she wanted to introduce him to 10K.And her dad and Doc, of course.

 

Even better, they _didn’t_ know that Snow wasn’t Helen any more.

 

She had been taught chess on Zona.The Founder played it with her often.He’d always praised her when she made clever moves. 

 

Well.

 

Chess it was, then.

 

No more a pawn.

 

She was going to be queen.

 

Though Princess of Limbo as a title would do.

 

Still smiling, she closed the makeup box and put the pendant back on before glancing up in the mirror.

 

Did she even look like a Helen?What would her father say if he knew that was her name? She couldn’t tell him.If he knew what it meant, it would just hurt him.

 

But maybe, someday, she could tell 10K…

 

Because she was going to make sure there would be a someday.She wasn’t losing her father, nor 10K.Not Doc, who’d accepted her instantly, either.No.She had her family now, except for Melody (and she would get Melody off Zona someday, somehow). 

 

She wasn’t giving them up.Not ever.

  
  
Final Mercy or not.

 

Zona had no idea what they were dealing with.And she wasn’t alone, now.Not ever again.

 

Snow couldn’t help glancing down at her left hand, and she squeezed the air gently.

 

Just like she was squeezing someone’s hand in her own.

 

***

 

10K started and looked at where his right hand should be.Phantom limb pain was normal.Phantom someone-squeezing-your-limb pain was not.

 

…Maybe he wouldn’t be able to pretend it had just been a dream after all.

 

***

 

**Coming Soon:**

 

"Are we ever going to talk again?" Red asked.

 

10K didn't meet her eyes.  "I don't know."

 

"I thought--I thought we were okay.  That we were getting better."

 

He took a deep breath and forced himself to at least look at her fully.  "I wanted to think that, too.  But wanting doesn't fix things."

 

"I saved you!"

 

"You maimed me!  I was immune!" he snapped, and Red's face flushed with anger.

 

"Go to hell," she said finally and walked away, hoping he'd follow her.

 

He didn't.


	6. 6x02 - Joie de Z (Part 1 - Pre Title Card)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10K tries not to think about all the things he should be thinking about. Snow promises him fun. Her friends are waiting. And amongst their interactions a crucial truth is slightly unveiled. 
> 
> Among Snow’s friends, her uncle waits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oookay this didn’t copy or format properly at all. (ETA: Well, I fixed the formating anyway.) So. Next part will be extra long at least?
> 
> For the title card, the iris is pale yellow-white. 
> 
> Take that as a hint if you so choose.

10K had been at Limbo for four days. 

 

He didn’t know when he would go back to Altura. Doc was supposed to leave for Kuruk and the dam soon, for his home he was making there, but...Snow’s arrival had Doc saying he’d stay a while longer. As far as 10K was concerned, any chance to spend more time with his adopted father was a great thing.

 

10K just didn’t want to think about why Snow herself had him wanting to stay a while longer, too.

 

Yeah, part of it, he could admit, was avoiding Red. Things had been going well before he’d come here—during the day, anyway.

 

At night, he couldn’t bring himself to be near her. And it wasn’t just because of the nightmares. He didn’t want to be vulnerable near her ever again.

 

It made it hard to do things like trust her with all he was, be comfortable alone with her...

 

_(...love her...)_

 

He could ignore that for a little while longer, anyway. As long as he stayed here, he could put it off. There was a problem with that, of course.

 

It meant having to actively work to ignore feelings towards Snow, too, and his denial over the issues with Red had already been strained to breaking. He didn’t have much left to deny anything else to himself. He was self-aware enough to know that.

 

But he was trying. After all, Red aside, this was the daughter of Murphy of all people. She was technically not even three. He’d only known her three days. She’d just fled Zona, where they hadn’t even bothered to give her a name of her own and she’d been subjected to...something, anyway. He’d gotten the impression of tests, experiments, trials, and pain when their minds had first touched and before she’d built up a wall around her thoughts. Hell, they’d fricking killed her. She was living free for the first time in her life. (He was going to keep thinking of it as living in both her case and his own (and...well, everyone else’s, too) for the sake of his sanity.)

 

10K repeated all these facts to himself as he leaned against a wall in Limbo, arms crossed, waiting for the subject of his thoughts to arrive like she had yesterday.

 

(He could repeat the facts to himself all he wanted, but a little voice inside also pointed out how her smile made his stomach flip and he felt drawn to her. And he could ignore the voice all he wanted, or pretend he was just drawn to her to learn more about what he was now, the voice also said, but he and the voice (who was him) would both know it was a lie.

 

...10K was also pretty sure he’d start questioning his sanity if he kept thinking about these things this much.)

 

He was jerked from his brooding by the sight of green-streaked hair and—well, the color of Snow’s skin was hard to forget, but he couldn’t help noticing it all over again every time he saw her. Especially in crowds. She seemed to be thrown into sharp contrast with everything around her.

 

“Hi!” Her smile was bright and slightly mischievous, and it pulled one onto 10K’s face in return.

 

“I was wondering if your dad might have locked you up or something.”

 

“Nah, but I think he was seriously debating the merits of a chastity belt.”

 

10K blinked at that. “...I’m not actually sure what that is.”

 

Snow’s smile becomes that damn mini-Murphy smirk again. “I’m not actually sure it’s possible to get one. Or would have been before the Zompocalypse. But I did make him choke when I pointed out—uh.” A faint hint of color rose in her cheeks in what 10K had learned was her barely-noticeable way of blushing. “Yeah. Anyway. Here now. So. Want to head out?”

 

That made him look at her warily. “Out where and for what?”

 

Snow rolled her eyes. “You climbed out a window without knowing why. I’m just asking you to go out a door.”

 

“Yeah, to where there are Zs.”

 

Snow smirked with even more mischief over her shoulder at him as she began to climb the stairs out of Limbo. “And I’m me. And you’re you. Which means we’ll be fine. It’s the humans you need to worry about.”

 

The thought wasn’t one 10K was entirely comfortable with, not least of all because he’d heard it from Murphy multiple times and once lately from Addy.

 

Not just because of what it meant about humans. No, the part he was having trouble accepting was he also fell into the ambiguous grey area of something Other. Not Talker, not blend, not Z, not human.

_You’re thinking about it too much. We’re something new and evolved.Adapted. You can’t change it. So?_

 

He sighed as he received Snow’s message and ran after her up the stairs.

 

He didn’t even notice when he took some two at a time.

 

Like he was looking forward to this.

 

Like following her was where he wanted to be.

 

***

 

“What color is your blood?”

 

He blinked at the seemingly random question. They’d been walking in a strange, comfortable silence for several minutes. 10K had been noting how peaceful it was, that he didn’t seem to see, hear, or sense Zs anywhere near where there would normally be one or two.

 

(He suspected Snow—maybe Murphy, too—had something to do with that.)

 

“Uh. Red.”

 

“Weird,” was her response as she shook her head. “I guess I get that it’s the norm, but still.”

 

“So...your blood isn’t red.”

 

“Lucy’s was blue,” she said idly. “Shouldn’t be a surprise. Mine’s...I guess you’d call it pink. A very pale pink. I’ve got data on it with my stuff somewhere. I’m pretty sure I’m only safe ever getting a transfusion from my dad if I needed one. But I’m not sure it’s even possible for me to need one anymore.”

 

“No wonder you ran away from the Zona bastards.”

 

Silence again before Snow replied in a very small voice, “I didn’t run away.”

 

He stopped and stared at her. “Wait. What?”

 

“I really don’t want to talk about it, 10K. Please. Not today.”She glanced at him with a smile only slightly forced. “We’re supposed to be having fun.”

 

10K made a faint sound of frustration. He wanted to know what she meant about not running away. What that meant about Zona and Snow herself.

 

He wanted to know more about what he was. What he could do, what she saw in him.

 

_Not today. Just...I want to just have fun. With you. Can’t we do that?_

 

There was something incredibly intimate and almost unnervingly comfortable at the touch of her mind against his.

 

The pleading look on her face made it even harder to resist.

 

And he didn’t actually want to.

 

So he sighed, nodding. “How are we having fun, exactly?”

 

She grinned at him, taking his hand in hers and tugging gently.

 

“We’re going to find my friends. And find out what you can do.”

 

“...So by friends, you mean...”

 

Snow’s smile was bright.

 

“Zs.”


	7. Update Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Longish bit coming next day or two, and some notes since this now officially is a Black Summer fic too.

So I was in two car crashed a year ago this coming May, and my back and neck were screwed. Physical therapy has kinda taken over. I’m slowly rewriting the parts I thought I had pasted in. 

 

Sorry. The good news is Black Summer has come out! While it’s not Z Nation, I did enjoy several of the characters. Two in particular have stood out, though. 

 

And luckily, they’re still alive at the end of the season! 

 

I still don’t plan to tag all spoiler chars any time soon on this fic, but one of them fits very well into things I had planned, and the other I have created something I’m very happy with.  

 

Especially as this fic is set more or less ten years after Black Summer. What are they like after a decade of Zs? My view and yours may be different, but I hope you still like what I produce.

 

So. You know. If you don’t want ANY clue of ANYTHING to do with Black Summer, I’ll put a note at the start of the section where the first one shows up. 

 

You have been warned. 


End file.
